Date Range: July 31, 2008 - July 1, 2008

July 10, 2008, 7:48AM

SCRANTON -- Diplomats from around the world plan to converge in Scranton on Saturday to dine with local business, community and religious leaders. The dinner at the Scranton Cultural Center is being held by the Institute on Religion and Public Policy based in Washington, D.C. . Full story »

July 10, 2008, 7:17AM

BETHLEHEM -- Lehigh University says a $9.6 million federal grant will finance studies of behavioral disorders among high school students. The U.S. Department of Education grant goes to a team of researchers from seven universities led by Lehigh's Lee Kern. The university says it is the largest ever awarded to a faculty member at Lehigh's College of Education. Full story »

July 09, 2008, 9:14PM

Cumberland Valley School District's new artificial turf field will allow sports and activities currently held on stormwater detention basins and parking lots to share a more suitable space, says district business manager Mike Willis. Willis made a presentation on the $2.9 million project to the Silver Spring Township supervisors Wednesday evening. The new field, which will be lighted and will... Full story »

July 09, 2008, 4:13PM

STATE COLLEGE -- William Sanders, a leader in archaeology and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, has died. He was 82. The retired Penn State professor died July 2 in State College of complications from a fall, the university said in a statement today. Sanders used an approach called "cultural ecology" to study the interactions of culture and... Full story »

July 09, 2008, 11:56AM

Pennsylvania's student-loan agency says a larger-than-expected state funding increase will mean smaller cuts in state grant awards to college students. The state budget increased funding for Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency grants by 5.5 percent, to $407 million. Gov. Ed Rendell had originally proposed a 3 percent increase. Full story »

July 08, 2008, 3:30PM

Six weeks after Big Spring School District teachers called off a strike, a contract settlement has yet to be reached. At the request of the teachers union, State College attorney Robert Gifford was appointed as a fact-finder to try to settle the contract. Gifford will present a proposal by July 28 to settle the contract. Each side then has 10... Full story »

July 08, 2008, 10:54AM

Fourteen teachers including administrative personnel have retired from East Pennsboro Area School District as of the end of the recent school year, district officials announced. Those leaving are: William Brassell, technology education, high school; Jay Gainor, technology education, high school; William Schemeck, social studies, high school; Bill Ennis, music, high school; Bruce Stankus, English, high school; Peter Gentele, language arts,... Full story »

July 08, 2008, 8:06AM

More than 70 signs promoting the Civil War trail have been posted by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation in six south-central Pennsylvania counties. The signs support the Civil War Trail routes promoted by VisitPA.com The project to identify, map and promote the Gettysburg Campaign of the Civil War Trail Program was sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic... Full story »

July 08, 2008, 7:19AM

STATE COLLEGE-- Penn State University will receive a 1.2 percent increase in state funding as a result of the new state budget approved by the Pennsylvania Legislature. The university's state appropriation this fiscal year will be $338.4 million, up $4.1 million from last year. State funding typically makes up less than 10 percent of Penn State's total budget. University... Full story »

July 08, 2008, 7:16AM

Strong opposition has stalled a proposal that would require Pennsylvania high school students to pass a battery of tests before they can graduate. Instead, Gov. Ed Rendell's administration and state lawmakers settled on a compromise that would make the tests optional for now. Full story »

July 06, 2008, 3:00PM

Some people fear the playing of "Taps" might become a lost art, so a resolution approved Wednesday by the state House urges the state education secretary to direct Pennsylvania schools to train students to play "Taps" on a trumpet or bugle. Rep. Bryan Lentz, D-Delaware, who served in the Iraq War, said he was moved to offer the resolution after... Full story »